Sunak is the latest prime minister in UK. And his appointment is historic in several ways. The 47th prime minister of the UK, Sunak is youngest in the country’s history to get the post. He is also the first person of colour — he has Indian heritage — to hold the office. So, what’s the tech angle here? Two. One, Sunak has some ties to Infosys. And two, he is a big crypto enthusiast.
Ever since Sunak’s name started doing rounds as UK’s possible prime minister, his Indian connection has become the chatter of social media. Sunak has Indian heritage. He is Hindu and both his parents had moved to the UK in the 1960s from East Africa. Then there is his Infosys connection. Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of co-founder of Infosys N R Narayana Murthy. Sunak also speaks highly of the Indian heritage and culture. Akshata, meanwhile, is not just the daughter of Infosys co-founder but also holds shares — around 1 per cent — in the company.
Congratulating Rishi on his win, Narayan Murthy said in a statement emailed to PTI, “Congratulations to Rishi. We are proud of him and we wish him success. We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom.”
Of all contemporary politicians, Sunak is among the few who are enthusiastic about cryptocurrency. Sunak, during his tenure as the chancellor in Boris Johnson’s government, had expressed his desire to make the UK a hub of cryptocurrency. Now industry experts have termed his coronation as the UK Prime Minister as good news for the crypto industry.
Back in April, when Sunak was serving as the chancellor of the exchequer during Boris Johnson’s rule, he proposed regulatory reforms related to stablecoins. “It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto-asset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country. This is part of our plan to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation,” Sunak said.
In 2021, Sunak also proposed a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or “Britcoin” to be a part of the UK economy by the end 2025. He had highlighted the advantages of CBDC but poor reception and regulatory concerns put forth by the security experts had stopped the CBDC from coming into action. Needless to say, the change of government twice postponed Sunak’s crypto plans. However, now that Sunak has assumed chair as the prime minister, there are some chances of the concept resurfacing and becoming a part of the UK economy.
